Photo by Ryan Dickey 
Never Give Up! In Football or Life!
Amongst colleges and universities there are many intense sports rivalries – none more intense than between Notre Dame and USC (University of Southern California) in football. Since both schools were dominant in their own regions, it’s always exciting when they play each other.
A major life lesson can be learned from one particular football game. The USC Trojan football team was ranked #2 in the nation and Notre Dame Fighting Irish was #5. “Fans” (short for fanatics) crammed the 100,000 seat Rose Bowl in Pasadena to see this spectacle on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The mood in the stands was electric – crowds cheering; bands playing; smiling fans joking; and tension filling the air.
Over-confident USC fans thought they were invincible, but Notre Dame scored early and often. All USC could muster was a weak touchdown just before halftime. The Irish couldn’t do anything wrong! At the end of the first half, the score was lopsided as both teams went to their football locker rooms to recover and regroup.
Notre Dame 24
USC 6
The Trojan fans were dejected! They just couldn’t sit around and watch it any more. They didn’t understand that “Nothing is less important than the score at halftime.” So during the halftime show, they left the stadium by the thousands, creating a traffic jam as fans ran to get their cars out of the parking lots. The USC football fans were demoralized, while the Irish were jubilant!
Yes, the USC football fanatics gave up, but their team didn’t! They had used halftime to consider their mistakes and make changes. These losers changed and became winners! To begin the second half, Notre Dame kicked the football to Anthony Davis of USC. He ran the football back for a touchdown. At the end of the game the score was radically different.
Notre Dame 24
USC 55
Reviewing Your Life
When considering your life, you may be so disappointed you want to give up. Others may tell you – you’re not good enough. You may have horrible regrets from mistakes you’ve made. But here’s Good News! No, Great News! You can now enter into the second half of your life confidently and become a real winner! Life can be completely different! It’s not too late to change! The Trojans had a football coach and playbook to help them. So do you! His name is Jesus and the playbook is the Bible!
Many years ago, a real person, Jesus, God’s son, suffered and died for all the wrong you ever did. There has to be a price paid for every wrong in our lives. These wrongs or sins, put you at odds with God goodness. But Jesus accepted all your sins and paid the supreme price of death for you. This was done so you can approach God directly anytime for help. Yes, He gave you direct access to God! All you need to do is give your heart to Jesus and turn away from your sins by praying this from your heart:
Dear God I believe Jesus is truly Your Son and He died for my sins. He conquered sin and came back to life. I’m truly sorry for all I’ve ever done wrong and ask for Your forgiveness. I accept Jesus into my life right now to lead and guide me. Thank you for saving Me! Amen!
Now, no matter your age or who you are by trusting in Jesus, you have a NEW life. Go find a church teaching God’s Word is 100% true. They’ll help you grow into the person you’d like to be.
Remember what Southern Cal football taught us; it’s not how you begin or what you’ve done up to now, but how you end and what you can do with the new life God has given you! It’s Never too late to become the person you want to be!
photo credit: Falconer/National Archives via ping news
Photo by Ryan Dickey
